THERMAL POWER

Hokitika Guardian, 3 May 1934, Page 8

THERMAL POWER

HARNESSING y ORGANIC «STEAM,

G.B.S.’ SUGGESTION 'DISCUSSED

WELLINGTON, April''.3o

In his broadcast address' on the eve (of 'his 'iigpajture ; irt>m t New /Zealand;', Mr G eo:rge, Bernard Shaw expressed! (the iopiniein. dhat (good uS ® -.should -be -madl‘l of ~the thermal power ayailablel jin -various ,parts of the • country; -fThe ipossibility of such an undertaking-.sis, iiroferred 'to in <a -letter >t° the .‘.!Doimiiiion” jjyritten ~by Mr .Stuart ;H. Wil-i ■son,- 1 ; MvSc., qf -the Dontinion -jDaboraj tory

“As long (ago -as .-4:918 an -abstract •describing .the Italian developments and .•■commenting ;Oii ‘the 'possibilities in Hew Zealand was 'made .for jthe ,NeWi Zealand Journal of .Science and Technology by ..Mr ifi, H. jjenkinson,” Mr iWilson writes. “'An engineer of, the iPublic Works .Department has, I 'be-, livee, visited iLardarello.'.So ‘that jNe.w iZfejlanders . 'have .'been following 'the. developments abroad. . “Although volcanic steam would-co?+ t nothing, there is the cost of hoi ing . probrbly dangerous ‘work—and ‘the,; cost of;Targe turbines for utilising ~large Volumes -of low-pressure steam. % -must ‘be remembered that «i.n Italy the .steam was first obtained, for .its, content of iboric (acid, ?a«d. 'its utilisation for power was a secondary ;de-: velopment. At. 'The .present -time chemical substances a.re being obtained, from the. steam, -whereas ‘it is • not I known whether natural steam in '.New Zealand would contain 'anything of value. • v ; " r Far From Large Centres. “The thermal regions are very far from large centres .of population, .and the cost,of (distribution of power is -an imppi’ta.ht item 'Nearer to Auckland, ’are ' •water-power -resources and a la* 6® ' coalfield. "'ln Italy there is -no-.coal, and not much water-power. 'Conditions are similar’in California. ,In Javg,-<>n the .other hand; .where experiments on Coring for steam have been made, further work ’has been 1 rgiven up.' other reasons .because of the .abu-ndaPf water-power available. Perhaps t|* e ( possibilities -of .our .thermal regions s might; attract there -industries ' requiy-. ing large amounts of steani in 'the . treatment >.of their ,products; otherwise there ‘does not.' seem to ; tie'any prospect ; of economic ; of these re-* i sources in the near-futiire. /' ' ' V “Thgre are, however, other points .to be considered. -Science has still much to learn about .yulcanolpgy.-; We do in-

deed know that the Minor volcanic phenomena, of fumardles',...(geysers, and

hot springs .mark .the declining, stag'e. of jvrilagmsin. . //The. p.reccding ; --.6^g e ‘ seems to be. one of violent explosive: outbreaks. The the heat arid energy in both stages is an ignepus intrusion at no grept depth.. As molten magma'crystallises, enormous volumes "of stefim .*a«re .These may cause explosive outbreaks, in ope stage of volcanic activity, .but, .finally .as explosive activity dies away, the , final. stage is . reached ,of quiet, emission of steam. >.

'.Supply for Million Yeters. ‘“Tn 'tliis stage ”mpst of * the water and steam appearing in hot springs is of surface origin, having . percolated downward,: arid risen up-.again, heated -by a. small amount of juvenile sWaM. The qscape of this mygmatic steam through fissures arid crevices is so slow that the supply, it "has ‘been calculated in one case, would last one and a half .million years. “The-steam ‘obtained by boring is; juvenile steam, that given off by the crystallising magma. In both Italy, and California the surface indications are slight, compared to the activity of ■our thermal regions, ,and active volcanic /.outbreaks have not occurred foi; untold ages. ‘But in'New Zealand volcanic .activity seems still‘to be in the stage-'of explosive outbreaks. There was one a s late as 1886, and geologists say that further explosive outbreaks are possible. “The effect of taking off vst amounts of vulcanic steam by boring might be jto relieve the pressure—but it might have an opposite effect. A terrible volI cahic outbreak occurred ' some years | ago at Eassen Peak in America, ari i outbreak which, .like a recent earth|.quake, might have been described ns j.“disastrous,” but for the fact that the j region was not inhabited. It is sup j posed ’that‘snow water (gained Access to the magma arid That the sudden qoolmg initiated crystrlHsfition; whortW enormous volumes-,of steam were liberated, causing van explosive outbreak. In the same way drawing off; by' boring ,mi “ 4 cau«e too rapid cooling .followed by-

explosion. '“This is -put forward not as a-scare idea, but to emphasise the ;riecqssity '-of.. scientific investigation .'preceding -attempts at boring, Even-if it may be iriany years before utilisation ■ be thought of, scientific work cap beg' UIrideed, the foundation has been laid for the Geological Survey has m-de “ .geological and vulcanologica! survey of the volcanic -area :of 'the .North .Island. This is so extensive.-that, there mav-.be,; areas where boring can be Safely done. “Hot springs a.re ..found' in ar&a totally‘ distinct ifromr.our , largeTherMab regions, namely, at Ohacawai, the Bays Of Islands. Here voice me activity seems to be long over, and (conditions are move similar to those o the regions where developments been made abroad. -j